The game was the back end of a Northern Sn Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader against the Cougars that was moved to Sioux City North High School, McGlauflin’s alma mater, due to unplayable field conditions at Alumni Field in Marshall. Sioux Falls won Tuesday’s opener 4-0.

McGlauflin came in for SMSU starter Taylor Klingenberg in the fourth inning with SMSU trailing 6-1. He gave up just one hit and one walk over the next 5 1/3 innings. He also registered one strikeout in the appearance.

With friends, family and his high school coach cheering him on, McGlauflin had one of the best outings of his career.

“We saved him for the last game but we weren’t sure how much we would have to use him,” SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard said. “We got down early and made a switch to bring him in and he gave us an outstanding performance. That’s the longest he’s pitched in a game since he’s been here at SMSU.”

The Mustangs scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning before USF was able to get an out. SMSU had runners on first and third with no outs but was unable to take the lead in the inning.

It didn’t take much longer before SMSU was able to get on top, however, as the Mustangs struck for three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Tanner Neale and Josh Hanson started the rally by each drawing a one-out walk and Ben Korger followed with an RBI double to give the Mustangs the lead. After a ground out, Brian Ness hit a two-run double that scored both Hanson and Korger to give the Mustangs a 9-6 lead.

“We had some better at-bats in that second game,” Blanchard said. “We had guys get on base by drawing some walks and were able to take advantage of some mistakes (Sioux Falls) made.”

Ness went 2-for-4 with four RBIs in the victory, and Korger went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

The Mustangs entered Tuesday’s doubleheader coming off four straight losses to Minnesota State-Mankato, including a 32-11 loss on Monday. They continued their funk in Tuesday’s opener.

USF starting pitcher Derek Fischer had a very strong outing against the Mustangs. He tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just five hits and striking out eight batters. It was the third time the Mustangs have been shut out this season.

The Cougars used a pair of two-run homers, one by Kelbe Beste in the fifth and the other by Keith Cutler in the sixth, to earn the victory. Beste and Cutler have combined for five of the team’s six home runs this season.

“He was a very good pitcher and did a very good job against us,” Blanchard said of Fischer. “He was the difference in that game. We pitched pretty well for the most part. We just missed on two hitters and they both hit home runs with guys on base, but other than that, we did a pretty good job on the mound.”

SMSU’s Colton Smit took the loss. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

The Mustangs have a week off before their next game on April 24 when they play a doubleheader against Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul.